Results 16,021-16,040 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (6 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The building project for the school to which the Deputy refers was recently approved to progress to the advanced stage of the architectural planning process, Stage 2(b) - Detailed Design, which includes the applications for planning permission, fire cert and disability access cert and the preparation of tender documents. The design team, in liaison with officials from the relevant local...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (6 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The building project for the school to which the Deputy refers was recently approved to progress to the advanced stage of the architectural planning process, Stage 2(b) - Detailed Design Stage, which includes the applications for planning permission, fire cert and disability access cert and the preparation of Tender Documents. Once all statutory approvals have been secured, and subject to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (6 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The principles underpinning the funding of agencies are set out in the Public Financial Procedures and circulars issued by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, including Circular 13/2014 concerning management and accountability of grants from Exchequer funds. Funds for the different bodies in the education sector are provided for in Vote 26: Education and Skills and are voted upon...

Topical Issue Debate: Apprenticeship Programmes (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I would be the first to recognise that we need to invest further in apprenticeships, not only the traditional ones, but also new ones. The Deputy must make an allowance for the fact that we are experiencing 20% growth per annum in the number of people participating in apprenticeships. This is a rapid expansion. While I would be disappointed to hear of some of the experiences to which the...

Topical Issue Debate: Apprenticeship Programmes (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputy for raising the very important issue of apprenticeships. We have made a serious commitment to expand the range of options. The position is not one of the chaos which the Deputy described but one of very rapid expansion in the number of people enrolling in traditional apprenticeships. During the past three years, including this year, there was an increase of more than 20%...

Questions on Proposed Legislation (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: An additional €100 million was added to the capital budget for schools this year. I had a very useful meeting with the board, principal and patron of the particular school about which the Deputy is concerned. I gave a commitment that the Department would review its spending programmes to ascertain whether, in the light of the phasing of different programmes, additional schools could...

Questions on Proposed Legislation (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: That report is being worked on. It is taking somewhat longer than was expected but the authors are working on it, and we will be paying close heed to their recommendations.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Sector Staff Retirements (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: Data on the number of retirement lump sums and overall amount paid by my Department to school-staff whose pay and pensions is administered directly by my Department is set out for each of the calendar years 2013-2015 in the following tables. The data is held in different value bands to that which the Deputy sought, and is presented in this format.  The work involved to present...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Funding (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: There are many competing demands on the limited capital budget for higher education. The Department of Education and Skills is aware of the proposed new library referred to by the Deputy and it will be considered within the context of competing demands. I am not in a position to commit to a funding allocation at this point.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Design (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: Student grant applications are means tested on gross income from all sources earned inside and outside the State within a specified reference period. The means test arrangements of the Student Grant Scheme are applied nationally. The assessment of income from the same starting point is deemed to be fair and reasonable because this approach eliminates any distortion which might arise from...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: There are no plans to establish a dedicated training organisation for the Hospitality Sector, but rather to deliver the required education and training through the mainstream higher and further education and training sectors, in line with provision for all other sectors.  The Government's basic position is not to establish new agencies to deal with new policy challenges, as was done at...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that Budget 2011 provided for a number of student grant measures, which came into effect for the 2011/12 academic year, including the change in the assessment of the qualifying distance criterion for the non-adjacent rate of grant from 24 kilometres to 45 kilometres. The 24km distance criterion was originally set in 1968 and had not been updated in more than 40...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Administration (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: As part of a comprehensive customer service and communications strategy provided by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), to ensure that all necessary avenues are open to applicants to receive the information they need, a dedicated email and phone line service is provided by SUSI for Oireachtas members. This was established to meet an identified need for applicants who choose to engage...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), which is an independent statutory agency, is responsible, through its network of Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including SNA support. The NCSE allocates SNA support to schools in accordance with the criteria set out in my Department's Circular...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to schools is published annually on the Department's website. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Remuneration (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: Teachers are employed by the managerial authority of each individual school. The terms and conditions of their employment are set out in my Department Circulars. Circulars 25/2013 and 52/2013 set out the procedures on commencement of section 30 of the Teaching Council Act 2001 in recognised schools requiring all teachers to be registered with the Teaching Council, except in the most urgent...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Applications (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The school referred to by the Deputy was approved funding to build 2 mainstream classrooms and 2 resource rooms under my Department’s Additional Accommodation Scheme 2013. The school authority has submitted a request for additional funding. Further information has been sought from the school authority and when this information is received and considered the school authority will be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: On 26 April 2016 applications were invited for the patronage of nine new post-primary schools to be established in 2017 and 2018, including the new post-primary schools to open in Limerick City and Environs (South-West) in 2017 and in Limerick City and Environs (East) in 2018. The closing date for receipt of applications for this process was 8 June 2016.  Patrons submitted with their...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I can confirm that my Department has received an application for window replacement from the school referred to by the Deputy under the Summer Works Scheme 2016-17. Under the Summer Works Scheme (2016-2017), valid applications from schools that were not reached for funding reasons from within the funding made available in 2016, will qualify to be assessed for purposes of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (5 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that a project for the school to which he refers is included in my Department's 6 Year Capital Programme (2016-2021). The project will be progressed with a view to proceeding to tender and construction stages between the years 2019 to 2021, as outlined in the programme. In the meantime, the school will continue to be accommodated in interim temporary accommodation.